Saturday’s College Football Games to Watch

By Fred Bierman

Nov. 21, 2014

24 U.S.C. at 11 U.C.L.A.

8 p.m., ABC

There is a lot at stake in one of college football’s best rivalries. Oregon has clinched the Pacific-12 North, but the South is still up for grabs and both teams are in the hunt. U.C.L.A. has the easiest path to a championship. If the Bruins beat the Trojans and then Stanford next week, they will play the Ducks for the conference title and maybe even a spot in the College Football Playoff. For U.S.C., it is a little more complicated. The Trojans need to win and hope that Arizona State loses once to capture the division. Arizona State will host Washington State this week and then travels to Arizona next week.

U.C.L.A. quarterback Brett Hundley’s 70 career touchdowns are a university record. In Hundley’s two victories over U.S.C., he has thrown for 442 yards and a score and added 90 yards rushing and four touchdowns. A win would put him in elite company. Cade McNown won four against the Trojans. On the U.S.C. side, Carson Palmer, Matt Barkley and Matt Leinart each beat the Bruins three times. All those players were drafted into the N.F.L. In the preseason, U.C.L.A. was a trendy pick to win the Pac-12 and Hundley was a popular Heisman candidate. But the Bruins struggled early to put away mediocre teams, slid in the rankings and lost back-to-back games against Utah and Oregon. They fell out of the top 25 and Hundley fell out of the Heisman race. But the Bruins rallied, winning their next four.

The stakes are just as big for the Trojans and their first-year coach, Steve Sarkisian. It has been an inconsistent season for U.S.C. The Trojans gave up 452 yards on the ground in a surprising loss at Boston College and then blew big leads and lost in heartbreaking fashion at home to Arizona State and on the road at Utah. A win at the Rose Bowl would go a long way toward saving this season. Quarterback Cody Kessler has thrown 29 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions, but is flying under the radar because of those three losses. A win here would get him some recognition and might make him a Heisman candidate for next year.

The game features the top two running backs in the Pac-12. U.S.C.’s Javorius Allen leads the conference, averaging 118.4 yards per game. U.C.L.A.’s Paul Perkins is right behind, averaging 117.2 yards per game.

One of the keys to beating U.C.L.A. is pressuring Hundley. Keep an eye on defensive lineman Leonard Williams (6 sacks) and safety Su’a Cravens (5 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss). The Trojans could get a boost from the return of cornerback Josh Shaw, who missed the first 10 games after lying about how he sprained both ankles. (He said he was rescuing a drowning nephew, but instead he jumped from a balcony after an argument with his girlfriend.)

Middle linebacker Eric Kendricks is the key to the Bruins’ defense with 110 tackles. During their four-game winning streak, the Bruins have done a better job of getting after quarterbacks, thanks to linemen Owamagbe Odighizuwa and Takkarist McKinley and linebacker Deon Hollins. The offensive line was one of the Trojans’ weaknesses entering the season but has held together. The Bruins will be a big test.

YALE at HARVARD

12:30 p.m., NBC Sports

Harvard is 9-0. Yale is 8-1. The Elis can share the Ivy League title for the first time since 2006 with a win. ESPN’s College GameDay is broadcasting from Cambridge, Mass. “The Game” does not get much bigger.

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Zach Hodges of Harvard has 25 career sacks.CreditGregory Payan/Associated Press

The Elis are trying to turn the tables on a rivalry that has been very one-sided lately. Harvard has won the last seven and 12 of their last 13. The last time one of these colleges won eight in a row against its rival? In the 19th century. Yale can take solace in the fact that it leads the series, 65-57-8.

The Crimson are riding a 13-game winning streak, dating back to last season, a streak that is second only to Florida State in all of college football. A victory would give Harvard its 17th perfect season. (And don’t forget Dartmouth, which beat Yale, and would gain a share of the league title with a victory over Princeton and a Yale win.)

Harvard linebacker Zach Hodges has 25 sacks in his career, the most in university history, and is the leader of a defense that allows 11 points per game, least in the Football Championship Subdivision. Hodges might be playing on Sundays in the N.F.L. someday. On the other side, Yale’s offense is at the top of the F.C.S., averaging 587.2 yards per game and 43 points. Keep an eye on quarterback Morgan Roberts (2,925 yards and 21 touchdowns) and running back Tyler Varga (1,296 yards and 20 touchdowns).

This is one of the greatest rivalries in college football, and this year’s edition is easily the most intriguing in recent memory.

14 WISCONSIN at IOWA

3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2 (Regional)

Badger running back Melvin Gordon made a huge statement last week, setting a Football Bowl Subdivision record with 408 yards rushing (in only three quarters) and finding the end zone four times in a victory over then-No. 11 Nebraska. Wisconsin moved up eight spots in the rankings and can wrap up the Big Ten West with a win and a Nebraska victory over Minnesota. The Hawkeyes, however, would still be alive in the West if they can find a way to knock off the Badgers. Iowa also needs Nebraska to beat Minnesota and would need to beat Nebraska next week. Lost in all the attention Gordon has received is how good Wisconsin’s defense has looked lately. The play of linebackers Joe Schobert, Vince Biegel, Derek Landisch and Marcus Trotter is a huge part of why the Badgers lead the nation in total defense, allowing only 244 yards per game.

8 MISSISSIPPI at ARKANSAS

3:30 p.m., CBS

The Rebels are still alive in the SEC West and still in the hunt for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Despite being off last week, losses by Mississippi State, Auburn and Arizona State helped the Rebels move up in the rankings. To keep those slim hopes alive, Mississippi will have to find a way to win in Fayetteville against an Arkansas team that is riding high after shutting out then-No. 20 L.S.U., 17-0, last week. Arkansas will look to grind it out on the ground, with rushing backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins running behind a big offensive line. Mississippi’s defense leads the nation, allowing only 11.9 points per game, but gave up 248 yards rushing to Auburn and 264 yards rushing to L.S.U. in their two losses. This is not a great matchup for the Rebels.

15 ARIZONA at 20 UTAH

3:30 p.m., ESPN

Both teams have fairly convoluted ways to win the Pac-12 South, but obviously any potential path involves a win this week. Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon is having an excellent freshman season and is one of the more underrated players in college football. He has thrown for 3,058 yards (eighth in the nation) and 25 touchdowns. Utah’s defense is a tough, physical unit that loves to make life miserable for quarterbacks. The Utes lead the nation with 47 sacks on the season, and lineman Nate Orchard’s 16.5 sacks are tied for the most in college football.

19 MISSOURI at TENNESSEE

7:30 p.m., ESPN

Thanks to a victory over Texas A&M last week, the Tigers need to win their remaining two games to clinch their second straight SEC East title. Missouri’s lone conference loss came against Georgia on Oct. 11. The Tigers also lost a shocker at home to Indiana earlier in the season. The Hoosiers have one victory since then and are without a victory in Big Ten play. Tennessee has been a different team since Joshua Dobbs took over at quarterback on Oct. 25. The team is 2-1 over that span, and Dobbs has accounted for more than 1,000 total yards.

BOSTON COLLEGE

at 1 FLORIDA STATE

3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2 (Regional)

The Seminoles keep tempting fate, but they keep winning. If they can win here and win next week against Florida, they are all but assured a spot in the College Football Playoff and a chance to defend their national title. FRED BIERMAN